Ingredients
| FOR THE FILLING | |
| 3 tablespoons beef dripping or cooking oil | |
| 500g ribeye, cut into small cubes | |
| 2 brown onions, chopped | |
| 3 garlic cloves, chopped | |
| 1 chilli, deseeded, chopped | |
| 3 tablespoons ground cumin | |
| 3 tablespoons smoked paprika | |
| 1 cup beef stock | |
| ½ cup freshly chopped parsley | |
| FOR THE DOUGH | |
| 500g plain flour | |
| 1 teaspoon, salt | |
| 100g beef dripping, warm | |
| 1.5 litres canola oil, for frying (optional) |
These beautiful empanadas are very popular in Argentina. At Cucina they are served with chimichurri sauce (of course) and everybody loves them.
Instructions
| 1. | To prepare the filling, heat the beef dripping or oil in a large pot over high heat then fry the beef until browned but not completely cooked through. |
| 2. | Transfer to a bowl leaving as much fat in the pan as possible. |
| 3. | Reduce heat to medium and fry the onion, garlic and chilli until tender; season with salt and black pepper. |
| 4. | Add the cumin and smoked paprika and fry, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. |
| 5. | Add the beef stock and reserved beef and fry for 6-8 minutes, or until the beef is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. |
| 6. | Season to taste with salt and black pepper then transfer to a medium bowl, mix in the parsley, cover, and chill in the fridge. |
| 7. | To prepare the dough, put the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook. |
| 8. | Mix ½ cup lukewarm water and the beef dripping in a separate small bowl. |
| 9. | With the mixer at the slowest speed, gradually add the water and fat until all the ingredients come together. |
| 10. | Transfer to a bench and knead until the dough is nice and smooth (you may need extra flour). |
| 11. | Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. |
| 12. | Using a rolling pin, roll the dough until 3mm thick; cut out 15 discs with a 15cm-diameter round pastry cutter. |
| 13. | Flour the bench then add 2 tablespoons of filling to the middle of each pastry circle. |
| 14. | Brush water around half the outer edge of each, then fold over the filling and pinch the edges to seal. |
| 15. | To finish the empanada with a traditional look, you can pinch and twist all around the half disc or simply press the edges with a fork to seal. |
| 16. | Cook the empanadas in one of two ways: bake at 180°C on a lined oven tray, 3cm apart, for 25 minutes or until golden brown; or fry, in batches of 5, in a medium pot filled with the canola oil and heated to 175°C. |
Recipes & food styling Pablo Tacchini / Photography Yanina Tacchini
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